If you’re having serious computer issues, you’re probably going to have to take your PC in to a professional. And while it would be nice to be able to trust everyone, the sad truth is you can’t. That said, you should take measures to protect your privacy before you take your computer in. You don’t want someone snooping around on your computer and uncovering personal information. Here are a few steps you can take just in case:

Remove your saved passwords-Can you imagine if you got your computer back and someone was able to log in to your email or Facebook accounts? How about your Amazon account? What a disaster that would be. With that in mind, if you have your passwords saved on your computer, get rid of them before you get computer repair!

Delete all financial information-No eyes other than your own need to see your financial information. So don’t have it on your computer where a repairman can look through it. Clear it off before taking your computer in.

Save your personal photos elsewhere-You never know what someone would do if they got their hands on your personal photos. Imagine if you saw a picture of your son used online somewhere on a random blog post. Or what if you had pictures of your wife and someone decided to save them for their own viewing pleasure? You don’t want to compromise or objectify your family. Save your photos on an external hard drive and remove them from your PC before you obtain PC repair.

Logout of all websites-Have you ever accidentally left your Facebook account logged in and one of your friends decided to mess with you by posting silly stuff on your wall? Now imagine if you took your laptop in for laptop repair and you accidentally leave it logged in. You could possibly have someone reading through all of your message or even contacting your friends and relatives.

Backup your hard drive-You never know if something important on your computer might get accidentally deleted during the repair process. With that in mind, make sure you back up your hard drive before you take it in. That way, you don’t have to worry about losing important information.

Clear history and cookies-What you do online is your own business. And sure you may have nothing to hide, but still, do you want someone analyzing your web surfing habits? Of course not. So take the simple steps to clear your history and delete your cookies before you take your computer in. It’s an easy way to protect your privacy.

Sure you’d like to trust your computer repair company. And choosing the right one certainly increases the chances that you’ll be able to. But regardless, take these simple steps to ensure your information is safe.